West Virginia Governor

Employer / Organization

Next Election

Nov 08, 2022

Filing Window

Jan 03, 2022 - Aug 01, 2022

Description

The Governor of the State of West Virginia is an elected constitutional officer, the head of the executive branch and the highest state office in West Virginia. The Governor is popularly elected every four years by a plurality and is limited to two consecutive terms. The governor is the chief executive of West Virginia. She is the commander-in-chief of the state's military forces and is charged by the West Virginia Constitution with carrying out the state's laws. Other duties and privileges of the office include: Addressing the General Assembly at the commencement of each regular legislative session on the state of the state, making recommendation for legislation, and giving an accounting of the budget to the legislature; Convening the legislature in extraordinary session by proclamation; Nominating and, with the advice and the consent of the Senate, appointing all officers not otherwise provided for; Making recess appointments to fill vacancies for all non-elective offices when the Senate is not meeting; Removing any appointed officer for "...incompetency, neglect of duty, gross immorality, or malfeasance in office..."; Remitting fines and forfeitures, remitting capital sentences unless the conviction was made by the House of Delegates, and granting pardons and commutations; Requiring additional security from state officers required to execute bonds at her discretion and declaring the office vacant if the officeholder does not make the additional security; Vetoing bills, including appropriations, subject to a majority override of the legislature; Filling vacancies in the offices of the Secretary of State, Auditor, Treasurer, Commissioner of Agriculture and Attorney General; Requiring a semiannual report, under oath or affirmation, from the subordinate officers of all executive departments and public institutions, concerning each office's collection and disbursement of public moneys; Requiring reports from the heads of each executive department and state institution concerning each office's "condition, management, and expenses," not to be made less than ten days before the start of the regular legislative session. The governor shall communicate the findings of such reports to the legislature in her address. The salary of this office is $150,000/year.

Application Guidelines

To file for this position follow these three steps: 1) Contact the West Virginia Secretary of State Elections Division to confirm that your registered address qualifies you for the position you intend to run for, and that you meet other office specific qualifications. Obtain the correct candidacy filing paperwork. 2) Complete the required candidacy paperwork including the appropriate campaign finance forms, a certificate of announcement form and (if you plan to run as an independent) a nominating petition. If you plan to run as a partisan candidate, the filing window for the certificate of announcement, which is required in order to participate in the primary election, runs from the second Monday in January until the last Saturday in January. For more information please contact your local party office for further instructions. 3) If you plan to run as an independent candidate, submit the nominating certificate with the stipulated amount of verified signatures to the West Virginia Secretary of State Elections Division by the filing deadline. The amount of required nominating petition signatures varies by office. The filing deadline for independents is August 1st (WV 3-5-24). The West Virginia Secretary of State Elections Division is the point of contact for any questions or concerns you may have. The West Virginia Secretary of State Elections Division can be reached at 304-558-6000 and the Elections Division website can be found here: http://www.sos.wv.gov/elections/current/Documents/2016%20RFO%20Final.pdf